Flydubai pilot casts doubt over Israeli plumber’s role during attempted hijacking

The pilot who was hailed as a hero for thwarting last month’s attempted hijacking of a Flydubai flight cast doubt on the claim that an Israeli plumber helped land the plane.Captain Smit Machchhar said he was unaware of the reported role played by Yaniv Hayoun, a plumber who had said he subdued the Omani co-pilot after forcing his way into the cockpit and even helped fly the plane.The Flydubai flight from the UAE to Israel plunged more than 14,000 feet in less than 30 seconds after the co-pilot attacked Captain Machchhar, repeatedly striking him with an axe, in an alleged attempt to crash the plane carrying 172 passengers on 30 September.The Indian captain was seriously injured in the attack but managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers to enter and restrain the attacker as the Boeing 737 descended sharply, Israeli authorities said. He was hailed as a hero for his actions, with world leaders saying he helped prevent a potential disaster.After the plane had landed safely, Mr Hayoun told Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he “grabbed the attacker, put him in a chokehold, and dragged him out first”.He also said that he had learnt how to control an aircraft by watching the television documentary series Air Crash Investigation."I don't know about the plumber story, to be very honest," Captain Machchhar told The National.Dubai crown prince Hamdan bin Mohammed Al Maktoum meets Captain Smit Machchhar in hospital (Reuters)He added, however, that his attention had been entirely on surviving the ordeal as he provided a different account of the incident. "Can a plumber land an aircraft? I don't want to get into the guesswork here, but at the same time to answer your question, my recollection and my energy at that point were just to keep myself alive," he said."My entire energy was focusing towards not giving up,” he added. “I do remember the senior of the flight speaking and saying that the captain was at control.”Israeli president Isaac Herzog awards Yaniv Hayoun (AFP/Getty)The captain, his head and left arm bandaged, was speaking from a hospital bed in Abu Dhabi.He said when the first blow landed, he thought something had ⁠gone "horribly wrong with the aircraft structure" before quickly realising he was being attacked by his co-pilot, and that things had "taken ​a ⁠drastic turn"."The next thought was ‌I need to get help in here," he told the paper. "My immediate action was to free myself from the seat belts and I ‌tried to just block the blows as much ‌as I could," he added, pointing to his arm that was wounded when he defended himself. "The blows were coming on the head."Captain Smit Machchhar (Israeli foreign ministry)The UAE ⁠attorney general said last week the Omani co-pilot had intended to seize the flight and ‌crash it into a ​terminal at Israel's Ben Gurion airport in a ‌suicide attack before he was thwarted by the ​captain.The co-pilot, identified as Hamam al-Hammami, 29, was transferred to the UAE after the incident for a terrorism investigation.